How to Merge Scanned Documents into One PDF

Digitizing paper documents usually produces a pile of single-page scans. Turning them into one clean PDF is a three-step workflow.

Step 1: Merge the scans

Open Merge PDF and select all the scanned PDFs. They combine in order — if you scanned out of order, re-add them in the correct sequence.

Tip: name scans with a numeric prefix (01, 02, 03...) before merging so ordering mistakes are easy to spot.

Step 2: Clean up

Scans commonly need three fixes:

• Sideways pages — rotate them with Rotate PDF.
• Blank pages — remove automatically with Remove Blank PDF Pages.
• Duplicate or test pages — delete with Delete PDF Pages.

Step 3: Optimize

Scanner PDFs are usually huge. Run Compress PDF in strong mode — expect 50–80% size reduction — or convert to JPG with PDF to JPG for the smallest possible file.

The complete workflow

1. Scan each batch to PDF (200 DPI is enough for documents).
2. Merge with Merge PDF.
3. Fix orientation with Rotate PDF.
4. Remove blanks with Remove Blank PDF Pages.
5. Compress with Compress PDF.
6. Add page numbers with Add Page Numbers to PDF.
7. Archive it.

Frequently asked questions

Can I merge scans from my phone?

Yes — scan with your camera app to PDF, then merge in the browser.

Why are my merged scans huge?

Phone and scanner outputs default to high DPI. Compression fixes it.

Can I add a text cover page?

Create one with Text to PDF and merge it as the first file.

Merge your scans now with Merge PDF.